PUPILS are celebrating after a school swimming pool re-opened complete with refurbished changing rooms.

Southminster Swimming Pool, Burnham Road, was able to completely revamp their facilities over the last month thanks to a £9,000 grant.

The money was secured by Southminster Primary School’s parent teacher association.

The PTA decided to try and find funding and successfully applied for a Turncole Wind Farm community benefit grant.

The changing rooms at the pool, which is owned by the school and used by pupils and the public, were in “desperate” need of work.

Suzanne Wichard, who teaches swimming lessons at the pool, said: “All of this is down to the PTA from the school.

“They applied to the wind farm for the grant and we have been able to use that to refurbish the changing rooms on the site.

“We were really in desperate need of having the changing rooms done up.

“Tiles were falling off the walls and it was in quite a serious state of disrepair.

“They are in a far better state now than they were before and that makes it a much nicer environment for the children to come into and learn.”

Pupils from the school joined members of the PTA and Ms Winnard at the opening of the new changing rooms on Thursday and have been putting them to good use.